Children's home run by Bright Starts Childcare Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2774740 1 Registered provider: Bright Starts Childcare Group Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered in July 2024 and is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted when the home opened in July 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection after registration.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2774740 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were present during the inspection. The children took part in the inspection by contributing their views. The manager was present throughout the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home feels warm and welcoming. It was decorated for Christmas and personalised with children’s artwork and photos on display. This gives children a sense of belonging and permanency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have developed positive and trusting relationships with the staff team. This helps the children to feel cared for. The children know that they can talk to all staff members and feel comfortable expressing themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s meetings are held regularly, and staff are proactive in seeking the child’s views regarding the running of the home. Children are consulted about what they eat. Their individual dietary choices are respected and well supported. Staff have expanded their knowledge to ensure that they are able to better support one child who has a vegan diet.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a range of activities, giving them the opportunity to try new things and continue experiences that are meaningful to them. Personalised books are created to capture these moments and provide lasting memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children continue to maintain good attendance in education, which encourages opportunities for learning. The staff have good links with education providers. Regular communication and a sense of curiosity help staff to provide additional support to the children. One child is currently taking mock exams, and the staff have liaised with the school to request additional revision resources.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s plans consider their individual needs and are regularly reviewed. Children’s individual achievements are recognised and celebrated. This helps children to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are being met. Staff identify children’s physical and emotional health needs when they move into the home and seek proactive support. Therapy has been identified as being potentially beneficial for one child and is planned to start in the new year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key-working sessions do not evidence the voice of the child. Some records are just one line and describe what staff have said to the child. It is unclear if staff understand what key-working sessions are. This is particularly unhelpful following incidents because the staff are not providing children with the opportunity to talk about their feelings. Managers have identified this as a weakness and are creating a plan to assist improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2774740 3

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are settled. Both children said that they feel safe at the home. Staff have built trusting relationships with children that show them they are respected. When incidents occur, staff are able to help children to feel calmer. This prevents the use of physical intervention.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The culture of the home is based on acceptance. Staff actively encourage children to explore their identity, and staff see children as their authentic selves. This aids children’s sense of security and trust, which contributes to a secure and stable environment.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff ensure that the children have clear routines. The atmosphere is calm. Staff understand children’s backgrounds and the importance of giving children space when they need it. This approach helps children to feel secure which has also contributed to them having fewer incidents since moving into the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children do not go missing from the home. Staff understand the risks to the children if they were to go missing. One child walked away from staff in a shopping centre. Staff made sensible choices to help the child come back, including alerting customer service staff. This minimised the need for police involvement. Staff fully understand their responsibilities to keep children safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Risk assessments do not include details of children’s neurodiversity. In one incident, this led to a staff member making an unhelpful comment to a child. This contributed to the continuation of the incident. Risk assessments fail to consider contextual safeguarding. One child has made racist comments to staff. The child also has a history of making right-wing comments online and aligning themselves with public figures who hold these views. These concerns have been risk assessed separately as challenging behaviour and internet safety. However, they have not been considered as a whole risk of radicalisation. Also, when asked about the child’s risks, staff did not name any of these issues. This means that staff do not have guidance that coherently pulls these risks together in an easily accessible way that protects children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management are effective. The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. He is committed to providing a nurturing environment in which children can thrive. He is supported by a knowledgeable responsible individual. Together, they set the positive emotional tone of the house. Inspection report for children’s home: 2774740 4 Staff said that they feel supported by the manager. This supportive environment for staff means that they are motivated and committed to the care of children. This has led to very low staff turnover and consistency for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior staff hold a level 3 qualification in caring for children. All staff have undertaken mandatory training, including safeguarding, health and safety and physical intervention. In addition, the manager has identified the need for further, enhanced training in specific areas, such as trauma-informed practice and gender identity. This training equips the staff to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is a strength. Professionals said that staff and managers work collaboratively with them. This provides the best support for children, and brings improved outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions. However, the records are not thorough and fail to demonstrate opportunities for reflective discussion about staff practice and children’s needs. On one occasion, a shortfall in staff practice relating to a comment made to a child during an incident was not followed up, and the actions to support learning were not provided. This could lead to further weaknesses in staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2774740 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the risk assessments include children’s neurodiversity and informed strategies to help children when they are experiencing a crisis.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that when staff practice does not take account of children’s neurodiversity, this is discussed, reflected on and steps are provided to support improvement.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that risk assessments involve the collation of information for different risks, including contextual information, to provide staff with full and comprehensive steps to take to protect children. 15 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2774740 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision sessions for staff include reflective discussion about the needs of the children, incidents that have taken place and how staff can learn to improve their practice, and that detailed records of these are in place. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand what key-working sessions are and what should be included. Key-working sessions should be meaningful, with accurate records that demonstrate that the voice of the child is being heard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2774740 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bright Starts Childcare Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Sopwith Crescent, Wickford SS11 8YU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Sanita Marshalleck

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Inspectors

Hannah Phillips, Social Care Inspector Naomi Starbuck, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2774740 8 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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